Promised yourself to quit smoking in the new year, but just can't stop lighting up? You're not alone, with an Australian survey showing that only 3 percent of smokers who made such resolutions stuck with them. An online poll of just over 1,000 people, conducted ahead of the launch of a video game designed to help smokers quit, showed one in four Australians made New Year's resolutions to quit ---- but more than half went back on their word within a week.Some 15 percent lit up within hours of making the pledge, the survey showed, The research revealed that seven out of ten smokers have tried to kick the habit at some point. "Our research shows that the majority of smokers in Australia want to quit but are struggling to stick to their resolution.For most people, the desire to stop smoking is not enough, "Edward Fong, general manager of Ubisoft, the videogame manufacturer selling the anti-- smoking software, said in a statement. According to the survey, Australian smokers light up an average of 13.8 cigarettes every day or 5,037 cigarettes a year.There are currently 2.63 million smokers in Australia, which equates to 16 percent of the population over the age of 18, with women on average making more attempts to quit than men.The World Health Organization says smoking kills about 4 million people each year, causing a quarter of deaths related to heart disease.The organization estimates that by 2030, more than 8 million people will die from tobacco - related causes each year, mainly in developing countries. According to the passage,   _   succeeded in giving up smoking. A) most of the smokers B) None of the smokers C) a few of the smokers D) a quarter of the smokers
C


How is it that siblings   can turn out so differently? One answer is that in fact each sibling grows up in a different family. The firstborn is, for a while, an only child, and therefore has a completely different experience of the parents than those born later. The next child is, for a while, the youngest, until the situation is changed by a new arrival. The mother and father themselves are changing and growing up too. One sibling might live in a stable and close family in the first few years; another might be raised in a family crisis, with a disappointed mother or an angry father. Sibling competition was identified as an important shaping force as early as in 1918. But more recently, researchers have found many ways in which brothers and sisters are a lasting force in each others' lives. Dr. Annette Henderson says firstborn children pick up vocabulary more quickly than their siblings. The reason for this might be that the later children aren't getting the same one-on-one time with parents. But that doesn't mean that the younger children have problems with language development. Later-borns don't enjoy that much talking time with parents, but instead they harvest lessons from bigger brothers and sisters, learning entire phrases and getting an understanding of social concepts such as the difference between "I" and "me". A Cambridge University study of 140 children found that siblings created a rich world of play that helped them grow socially. Love-hate relationships were common among the children. Even those siblings who fought the most had just as much positive communication as the other sibling pairs. One way children seek more attention from parents is by making themselves different from their siblings, particularly if they are close in age. Researchers have found that the first two children in a family are typically more different from each other than the second and third. Girls with brothers show their differences to a maximum degree by being more feminine than girls with sisters. A 2003 research paper... The word "feminine" (in Para. 4) means "  _  ". A) having qualities of parents B) having qualities of women C) having defensive qualities D) having extraordinary qualities
B


Q: In the more and more competitive service industry,it is no longer enough to promise customer satisfaction.Today,customer "delight" is what companies are trying to achieve in order to keep and increase market share. It is accepted in the marketing industry,and confirmed by a number of researches,that customers receiving good service will promote business by telling up to 12 other people;those treated badly will tell their tales of woe to up to 20 people.Interestingly,80 percent of people who feel their complaints are handled fairly will stay loyal. New challenges for customer care have come when people can obtain goods and services through telephone call centers and the Internet.For example,many companies now have to invest a lot of money in information technology and staff training in order to cope with the "phone rage"--caused by delays in answering calls,being cut off in mid-conversation or left waiting for long periods. "Many people do not like talking to machines,"says Dr.Storey,Senior Lecturer in Marketing at City University Business School."Banks,for example,encourage staff at call centers to use customer data to establish instant and good relationship with them.The aim is to make the customer feel they know you and that you can trust them--the sort of comfortable feelings people have during face-to-face chats with their local branch manager." Recommended ways of creating customer delight include:under-promising and over-delivering (saying that a repair will be carried out within five hours,but getting it done within two );replacing a faulty product immediately;throwing in a gift voucher as an unexpected "thank you" to regular customers;and always returning calls,even when they are complaints. Aiming for customer delight is all very well,but if services do not reach the high level promised,disappointment or worse will be the result.This can be eased by offering an apology and an explanation of why the service did not meet usual standards with empathy (for example,"I know how you must feel"),and possible... What does the writer recommend to create customer delight? A) Calling customers regularly. B) Giving a "thank you" note. C) Delivering a quicker service. D) Promising more gifts.
A: C


Q: Isabella Stewart was born in New York City in 1840. Her father made a great deal of money in trade. During school,her parents took her to Italy to explore the country's many cultural treasures. One of the private art collections Isabella visited in Milan had a deep influence on her. She wrote to her friends about her dream of owning a house one day with an art collection like the one she had seen in Italy. In Paris, Isabella became a close friend of one of her classmates, Julia Gardner, whose family was from Boston. Julia would later introduce Isabella to her brother, Jack. In 1860, Isabella Stewart married Jack Gardner. The couple had too much art to fit inside their home. So they decided to start planning a museum. Mrs. Gardner didn't like the cold and empty spaces of many museums during her time. She wanted a warm museum filled with light. She once said that she decided years ago that _ . America was a young country developing quickly in other areas. But the country needed more chances for people to see beautiful examples of art. After her husband's death in 1898, Isabella knew she had no time to lose in building her museum. She bought land, hired a building designer, and supervised  every detail of her museum's construction. Mrs. Gardner opened her museum on January 1,1903. The museum was then called Fenway Court. She invited her friends that night for a special musical performance. The next month, she opened the museum to the public. At first, visits were limited to twenty days out of the year. Visitors paid one dollar to enter. Isabella Stewart Gardner died in 1924 in Boston. In her will, she left the museum a million dollars and a series of requirements about how it should be managed. One requirement is that the permanent collection cannot be changed. In order to achieve her dream of owning an art museum, Mrs. Gardner   _  . A) raised money from her friends and relatives B) sold out all her land and houses C) held special musical performances for money D) watched over the process of building the museum

A: D